Show AS A MEANS OF GRACE The Conflicting Emotions of a Herald Correspondent I To the Editor of THE HERALD Standing with one foot in Kansas and the other in Missouri I write you a series of my reflections I am facing the Central road of the big iron firidge across the mighty muddy Missouri over which the trains pass from Atchison Atchi-son to Winthrop and thence to Chicago Consequently my right foot is firmly pressing the prohibition soil of the State of Kansas while my left is preparing pre-paring to watt me over should I desire it towards a huge sign on the east side of the river announcing a brewers best production in the State of Missouri Here is the world of principle on the liquor question divided by the rolling river said to be notwithstanding its proverbial muddi ness the third purest stream in the United States On my right hand a man with the painters colic cant get a pint of Kentucky whiskey without going to a drug sture and executing an affidavit affi-davit that the liquor he is about to purchasein presence of an officer Is to be drank for medical purposes and by inference that the man who drinks it is to be drunk for the same laudable purpose While on my left a man or woman cither from any civilized nation on earth that is any white person or negro Indians being excluded can distend his or her ample cuticle with the worst rot the country affords for 10 cents and go home into Kansas in the most glorious convivial condition for 15 cents if he can pay 5 cents more to the tollman on the bridge Consequently to the Kansas toper the Missouri bridge is a means of grace if he Is out of funds and a taeane of disgrace dis-grace if he has a nickel over the price of his drink h J A person standing where I do cant helpJeeling the conflicting elements cf spirituous warfare between these two great stars of the Republic I fancy my position is somewhat similar to that occupied by the noted Siamese twins Itis said that onehalf of the twins was a temperance man while the other half was fond of his tods So when the latter indulged his taste for toddy i the temperanco advocate got blind drunk And vice versa when the cold water champion took a draft of ice water it sent a cold chill through the other twins system and made him feel uncomfortable Fortunate for your correspondent that he has a good control con-trol over himself or standing in so desperate des-perate a situation ho might be riven asunder by the conflicting attractions As it is ho ever neither the cold water chills or the tod fever has any effect on me A glass of warm milk or a cup of cocoa sets me all right in any state and I think these are legitimate legit-imate beverages even in Kansas let alone Missouri Apropos of whisky medicinal purposes pur-poses I could not help noticing the very large number of drug stores in Atchison the other day You must remember re-member that while the State is prohibition prohibi-tion the town of Atcbison is somewhat otherwise So the wily lover of warm beverages takes his entirely for medicine medi-cine and doubtles his consqience approves ap-proves the necessary oath much as the Utah lumber dealer feels the necessity of swearing that all lumber purchased is for domestic purposes in order to dodge the devil around the stump while be gets a little something for his Dersonal wants In Omaha Neb they license the liquor traffic and devote the money to public free schools so that the children child-ren of those who spend their earnings in drink may be educated with part of it As to which is the best mode of handling this moral or immoral elephant ele-phant I leave your readers to judge I was reminded of your condition out in Utah the other day on reading in a Texas paper the following incident Northern manWho is that black bearded fellow who Is glaring at us acrossthe street Texas man terrif tdDont look at him stranger or youre a dead man He has already killed fourmen and seven niggers Northern man Indignantly Why dont the people combine and rid the town of such savage Texas man confidentially Lynch him Now you just wait stranger We have our suspicions that he has stolen a mule and if we can fasten icon him hell swing sure as ahootln Polygamists will readily make the I proper application of this story in considering con-sidering the court policy of the past though I understand there is to be amore a-more generous handling of their cases than formerly Am I right GASVA MIDDLE OF ilissouEiEiVEB CENTER OF BIG BRIDGE June 10th 1887 |